10/29/2013

Sarvis poised to make a big impact on Election Day

What type of voter is Robert Sarvis, the Libertarian candidate for Governor hoping to attract? In a live interview on NBC12's First at 4, he made a populist case for his candidacy.

"I'm trying to be the candidate for the forgotten middle," Sarvis said.

Sarvis is realistic about his chances a week from Tuesday, but he is the only candidate of the three that can lose and still make history. If his polling numbers turn into actual votes, he could put the libertarian party in rarefied political air.

"I think it sends a very strong message, the libertarian party can get major party status under the law," he said. "That increases the openness and competitivness of our political system and that injects more good ideas into the process."

You can sense a move by Sarvis to appeal to a wider swath of Virginia voters as his poll number approach double digits. This is no longer a campaign designed to send a message from a vocal minority. While Sarvis believes in libertarian principles, he's been hit by some on that part of the political spectrum who believe he isn't authentic enough.

It is clear that he hopes to set the stage for future third party candidates. In particular those hoping to forge a consensus by taking on popular social and economic positions from both the right and left.

"I want to be the governor for all Virginians," he said. "Virginia voters are not all libertarians, I am going to govern from the center. I'm going to move policy in the right direction which is more freedom, more rule of law."

On election night his hope is that this simmering movement he is now a part of, has life after next Tuesday.

"There is a lot of things that we can do to move past the two party system and the dysfunction we've seen in Washington with the shutdown and in Richmond with the ever encroaching government in our private lives," he said.